Makeover is a knockout

26th June 2013

A residential home in Tonbridge for adults with learning disabilities has undergone a makeover, thanks to the hard work of staff from Kings Hill developer Liberty Property Trust UK Ltd.

Every year Liberty’s 400 employees in the UK and USA take part in the ‘Bill Rouse Day of Caring’ and spend a day helping their communities in memory of the company’s founder Bill Rouse, who died in 2003.

Last week, 24 staff from Liberty’s Kent and London offices spent the day at the Scotts Project Trust www.scottsprojecttrust.org.uk, which provides a safe and supportive environment for adults with learning disabilities. It has a Development Centre offering a wide choice of exciting courses under expert supervision which aim to broaden horizons and teach key skills, as well as a residential home for 15 people, St Peter’s Row in Delarue Close and two houses in nearby Shipbourne Rd which provide supported living accommodation.

The Liberty team worked in all parts of the centre, painting the kitchen in the Development Centre, the hallway in St Peter’s Row and laying two patios and erecting a new garden shed at the supported living houses.

The work took place while the residents were enjoying a day out at an It’s a Knockout competition, organised by Tonbridge Lions, and, said Elaine Harris, Scotts’ Finance and Administration manager: “It was a lovely surprise for them to come back and find their buildings had undergone a transformation while they were away. We are very grateful to all the Liberty staff who worked so hard to help us on the day and we were delighted to have been selected for the Day of Caring.

“It has made a tremendous difference to us as it was work we would not have had time to do ourselves for many months and we are hugely grateful to Liberty.

“Two of our students – Alison and Daniel – are journalism students, so they were delighted to have the opportunity to interview Liberty’s managing director for a piece in our newsletter. We need as much publicity as possible to help us raise £400,000 to build an extension to enhance the accommodation in St Peter’s Row.”

Anyone interested in finding out more should visit www.scottsprojecttrust.org.uk

Liberty’s managing director Andrew Blevins commented: “This is such a worthwhile project and it was a very humbling experience to be part of it for a day. I think it is very important to contribute to the community and the Day of Caring enables us to do that with some of the less well known charities.”

The Bill Rouse Day of Caring takes place on the Friday nearest to Bill’s birthday, June 19. Projects Liberty staff have been involved in so far include Leybourne Grange Riding Centre for the Disabled; Spadeworks; Burham Youth Club; Maidstone Centre for the Homeless; Help the Aged Day Centre in West Malling; two Scout camp sites in Loose and Sittingbourne; the Quest School in Offham, Dandelion Time in West Farleigh and Rock UK Carroty Wood Adventure Centre, Tonbridge.